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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cue — a hint
  4. net — in sport
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — a box
  8. cue — for pool
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — a weight
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — of your body
  17. last — to go on
  18. chest — of your body
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — for catching
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. last — final
  23. cue — a signal
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com